Cotton-press



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet l.

C. A. H-EGE.

' COTTON PRESS.

Patented Peb. 2, 1886.

mwmnmulmuW (Nomodel.) s sheets-sheet 2.

o. A. HBGE.

COTTON PRESS. No. 335,194. Patented Feb. 2, 18186.

NA Pneus, Phammhagnphur. wnmngnm nu 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

Patented Feb. 1886.

1 C. A. HEGB.

COTTON PRESS.

fl @'s: in

(No Model.)

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

OONSTANTINE A. HEGE, OF SALEM, NORTH CAROLINA.

COTTON-PRESS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 335,194, dated February2, 18864 Serial No. 179,900. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CoNsrAN'rrNE A. HEGE, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Salem, in the county of Forsyth and State of NorthCarolina,have invented certain new and useful Improvements inCotton-Presses, and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enablevothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

My invention relates to cotton-presses, and

-has for its object to produce a press in which the pressure can be madeequal from both top and bottom, or made greater from the top than fromthe bottom at varying degrees, or applied from the top alone, and inwhich the cotton will be pressed in layers, the general constructionbeing such that the friction usually found in presses is greatlyreduced, the power is increased, and the mechanism employed .siniplied.

To the foregoing ends the invention cor. sists in the construction andalso in the combina tion of parts hereinafter particularly described,and then sought to be clearly defined by the claims, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof.

Figure l is a perspective of the press. Fig. 2 is a perspective of thelocking keys or bars to the doors. Fig. 3 is a vertical section. Fig. 4is a plan, with parts broken away. Fig. 5 is a horizontal cross-sectionon the line as w of Fig. 3, with parts broken away. Fig. 6 is a verticalsection across the press on the line y y of Fig. 3, with parts brokenaway. Figs. 7, S, and 9 are details of one of the adjustingblocks,adjusting-eccentric, and follower, respectively. Fig. 10 is aperspective of abale, showing the cotton packed in layers.

In the drawings, the frame of the press is shown composed of the baseconsisting of longitudinal sills A and cross-blocks A', uprights B,resting upon sills A, side and end sills, C and C', respectively, andtop sills, D, resting on the upper ends of uprights B. I do not confinemyself,however,to this construction of frame.

In the frame is supported or built, in any suitable manner,the trough E,the same being formed into an upper section, F, formed with said pieces.

vertical slots c in its ends, and lower section. F, with aspace, G,between them closed when the cotton is being pressed by end doors, G,and side doors, G2, which are hinged at their lower ends to the sills,as shown, so as to be swung open or dropped when the bale has beensufficiently pressed,f0r the application of the bale bands and ties.These doors are provided at their upper edges with cross-pieccs a, whichbear against the outside of the upper section of the trough when thedoors are closed, and against which the locking-keys H bear to hold thedoors closed. These locking-keys are formed each with lugs b at oppositeends, which are brought up against the outside faces of the pieces c tothe side doors with a wedging action, so as to bind the doors together.NVhen the doors are to be opened, these keys are simply pressed from offthe I do not limit myself, however, to this particular locking means.

Vthin the upper portion of the trough there works a follower, I, formedon its under face with a series of recesses or slots, d, for the passageof the bale-band, and having eX- tending upwardly from its top a shaft,I', formed with a vertically-extending slot, e, terminating below itsupper end, the said shaft in the drawings being shown as having itsupper end broken away. This shaft passes between two friction-rollers, JJ, provided each with a set of cog-wheels or pinions,ff,one set meshingwith the other, and one ofthe rollers having its shaft extended andapulley or band wheel, J2, thereon for the belt which transmits powerthereto. One of the rollers is journaled in movable boxes or blocks K,which slide on the top sills, D, so that the frictional contact with theshaft I can be regulated by adjusting the blocks, and thus the followerbe raised and lowered, or, if desired, the contact so reduced after thefollower has been raised as to permit the follower to drop by gravity.Any suitable means for effecting this result may be employed withoutdeparting from the spirit of my invention. As a means suitable as any,if not better than any other that suggests itself now, is the following:The boxes K are formed with elongated slots g, and a pin or bolt, K', ispassed through each of said slots IOO into the top sills, D. These boltswill permit the boxes to slide back and forth, and at the same timeprevent them from moving laterally. The boxes are slid back and forth byan eccentric, L, passed through metallic plates h, secured to theuprights B, and having its ends t' entering the boxes, as shown. Ahandle or lever, L', is connected to the eccentric so as to turn it. Theabove is given merely as an illustration of suitable means for slidingthe journal-boxes without any intention of limiting myself thereto.

In the lower portion, F', of the trough E is a bed or follower,l I2,which may be movable or immovable. It is shown as movable, and isprovided on lits top face with a series of slots or recesses, d,corresponding to those in the face of the upper follower, and for thesame purpose. This follower I2 is jointed to the upper ends of the twosets of levers M M', the lower ends of the levers being jointed by pinsor bolts j j' to the gears N N', which mesh with each other and with theworms O O ou the shaft Q, by which they are turned. It is preferred thatthe two wheels should mesh with each other; but such is not so ofnecessity, and it is obvious that the worms could mesh with the gears atthe top instead of the bottom, so as to bring the gears beneath a floorin the mill. and thus bring the press lower or nearer to the fioor.These and similar mechanical changes are obvious to the rnechanic, andreference is here made to them to show that they can be made withoutdeparting from thespirit of my invention. To the same gears, N and N',are jointed the lower bent ends of divided or bifurcated levers P P' byboltsp p. The upper portions of these levers are provided with rounds qq', connecting the separated parts of the two levers, and are for thenotched or hook ends of the cross-bar Q to engage with when pressure isto be applied through the levers P P' to the cotton in the press. Thelevers P P and M M', in con nection with the gears N N', act astogglelevers to exert the desired and required pressure on the cotton,for as the gears are revolved in the direction of the arrows the lowerends ofthe levers P -P' are carried outward, and the lower ends oflevers M M' inward, so that the upper ends of the two sets of levers aremoved, respectively, downward and upward so as to carry the follower andbed-plate toward eachother and thus compress the cotton.

The arrangement of levers described gives the greatest power with theminimum of friction and strain on the parts.

vThe shaft is provided with a bevel gearwheel, It, with which mesh thebevel-pinious R'RZ, loosely mounted on the shaft S, so as to turnthereon except when engaged by the clutch T, which is feathered, so asto slide lengthwise on the shaft and turn therewith. This clutch ismoved back and forth to engage with one pinion or the other by means ofa lever, U, fulcrurned to au arm, V, and con- Apulling laterally off ofthebar.

holes l and 2 in the sill A, and can be held` from engagement witheither by passing the pins into the hole 3. The shaft S carries apulley, W, at one end, from which will lead a belt to any suitablesource of power, and at the other end carries a pulley, W", from which abelt, Y, extends to t-he pulley J2.

In operation t-he clutchT stands out of engagement with piuions R' R2,and the follower I is raised till :it is above the opening Zin the sideof the press at its top for the passage of the cotton, and the concavedor reduced portions Z of the shaft are opposite to the faces of thefriction-rollers J J', holding the follower up'at the top of the press,yet allowing the frictional rollers to turn, by thus having the reducedportion of shaft between them, thus preventing the follower fromdescending while the cotton is being introduced through the opening Zand until the desired quantity has been introduced to form a layerthereof.

Then the eccentric-lever is moved inward, causing the frictional rollersto separate enough for shaft I to freely pass between them, which atonce causes the plunger to drop with all its weight on the layer ofcotton just introduced, thus giving a heavy blow to same, and in ameasure compressing it into aflat layer. As soon as the follower hasthus dropped the lever L' is moved out away from the press, thus turningthe eccentric in the opposite direction and pressing the frictionalrollers nearer together,'when the shaft I' is at once firmly graspedbetween the frictional rollers, whereby the follower is again raised tothe top, when the reduced portion of shaft I' is again brought betweenthe frictional rollers, and the rollers continue to turn without movingthe plunger, while another charge of cotton is then introduced and theoperations described repeated until sufficient quantity of cotton hasbeen introduced to form a bale, with the plunger I resting ou top of thecotton. lThen the levers P P' are placed in an upright position and thebar Q passed through the slots c in the ends of the trough,

and the slot e in the follower-shaft I', with the face of the bar atboth ends bearing against the under side of two of the rounds q and q',the bar also resting on top of the follower I. The upward elasticpressure of the cotton will keep the cross-bar against the rounds, andthe hook ends of the bar will keep the levers from The clutch T will nowbe thrown into engagement with pinion R2, when wormshaft O will turn thelevers P P' downwardly, thus moving the follower I and bed-plate I2toward each other and IOO IIO

compressing the cotton into a compact bale. By the time the cotton hasbeen pressed as much as desired the two followers will have advanced farenough to bring their recessed faces dcP where the balebands can bepassed through them and around the bale when the doors G2 are thrownopen. After the application of the bands and ties the clutch is shiftedinto engagement with the pinion R', when the shaft O is turned in theopposite direction, so as to retract the levers M and P. when the bar Qcan be removed and the levers PP' thrown back into the position shown byfull lines in Fig. 1 and dotted lines in Fig. 3, where they will be heldby rods or chains s, and the end doors, G', thrown open, when the tiedbale x can be easily removed from the press. The shaft still beingturned in the same direction, the levers will be drawn back to theirfirst positions, when the operations already described will be repeatedand bale after bale formed.

It will be observed that the wheels N and N' have a series of holes, 'tand a, for the attach ment of both sets of levers P and M. This permitsthe point of attachment of the levers to be adj usted so that thepressure can be regulated at the will of the attendant-that is, thepressure can be made the same from both top and bottom, so that thebed-plate l2 will move upwardly two feet and the follower l downwardlytwo feet, thus getting a combined pressure of four feet; or, by shiftingthe levers, the pressure can be made to be three feet or four feet fromt-he top, depending on the eX- tent of the adjustment, and two feet fromthe bottom, thus getting a combined pressure of five or six feet, withthe greatest pressure from the top, where the most is usually required,from the tendency ofthe cotton to expand upwardly.

It is obvious that the construction described allows many ehanges'in theextent of pressure from opposite sides of the bale, so that the pressurecan be applied where it is most needed. lf desired, the bed-plate I2, asalready intimated, can be made to rest stationary in the bottom ofthetrough, and only the follower moved, so that the pressure will be fromthe top only, or, if preferred, the top plunger or follower may be heldrigid, after the bale has been packed ready for pressing, and thebed-plate or bottom follower made to move upward, so that the pressurewill be altogether from the bottom, thus bringing the pressure eitherfrom the top or bottom independently, or from the bottom and top atonce, as may be desired. This press can be used in a horizontal as wellas in a vertical position.

The follower l, operating as described, permits the cotton to be packedin layers, which is very desirable in cotton for many reasons apparentto persons handling cotton.

rlhe press as a whole is simple in construetion and operation, and yetpossesses all the strength requisite in presses of this character,and,besides,has among other advantages those of permitting the pressureto be varied as desired and of building up the balesin layers.

It is obvious that changes in the details of construction andarrangement of parts can be made without departing from the essentialsof my invent-ion.

Having fully described my invention and set forth its merits. what Iclaim is l. The combination, with the trough, of two followers thereinmovable toward each other, and levers for moving said followers andvarying the extent of pressure, so that one will have a more extendedpressure than the other, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with the trough, of a follower and an adjustablelever for adjusting the extent of pressure of said follower,substantially as described.

3. The combination of the trough, the follower, the rotating wheels, andlevers P P',

jointed at one end to said wheels and adapted to be detachably connectedat their other end with the follower, substantially as described.

4. The combination, with the trough and the followers therein, of therotating wheels, levers P P', connected at one end with said wheels, andadapted to have the other end connected with one of the followers, andlevers M M', connected to said wheels at one end and at the opposite endwith the other of said followers, substantially as described.

5. rPhe combination, with wheels N N', of levers P P', adjustablyconnected therewith, and a follower, substantially as described.

(5. The combination, with wheels N N', of levers M M', adjustablyconnected therewith at one end, and at the other end connected tofollower l2, substantially as described.

7. The combination,with the trough, of the wheels N N', levers P P',connected thereto, and a bar, Q, connecting the upper ends of saidlevers, substantially as described.

8. The combination,with the trough, of the follower I, provided with aslotted shaft, I', levers P P', and a bar, Q, passed through slots inthe trough and the slot in the shaft and connecting the ends of the twolevers, and means for moving said levers, snbstalr tially as described.

9. The combination, with the trough and the follower provided with theshaft I', of the friction-roller J, provided "with eogs ff,friction-rollers J', provided with eogsf' f', meshing with eogsff,blocks K and K', sliding on the top sills, D, and carrying roller J',and means for moving said blocks back and forth, substantially asdescribed.

10. rl`he combination, with the trough having therein a followerprovided with a shaft, having a portion thereof' reduced in size, ofrollers bearing against said shaft to raise and lower the same, the saidrollers on the upstroke of the follower lling in the reduced .ICO

portion of the shaft, so as to be free to reto regulate the direction ofrotation of the ro volve without moving the shaft, substantially shaft,substantially as described.

as described. In testimony whereof I affix my signature 11. Thecombination, with l[he WheelsN N in presence of two Witnesses.

and levers M M P P', connected thereto, of a T worm-shaft the worm ofwhich meshes With -CONSTANTH\E A' HEGE the teeth of said Wheels, agear-Wheel to said v W'itnesses:

shaft, pinions meshing with seid gear-Wheel, A. G. HOUGI-I,

and a clutch for looking either of said pinions O. P. NORFLEET.

